The 4th- what a marathon!

Such a fun day!  It actually makes me a little tired thinking about all the back and forth from Bountiful to Kaysville, but what could we possible cut out??  My parents ward's breakfast is a great tradition and with Dad putting it on, it's even more fun to take part in it.  The devotional is a great way to start the day, then off to the Kaysville parade where Lydia is just beginning to get excited about the candy the people on the floats throw.  The noise is something our girls may never get used to, but they sure loved sitting on Dad's shoulders when there were horses or other exciting passersby. At least Lydia did.  Sophie and I hung out on the blanket for the better part of the parade.  Occasionally we'd brave the crowd and join everyone clumped together on the curb, but it'll be another year or more before Sophie chooses to join Lydia and her cousins in that action.

Lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Frazier and the cousins is always a good time; as is dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Blackhurst with as many Aunts, Uncles and cousins as can make it.  And amazingly last 4th of July Lydia stayed awake through it all.  Ending a day like that with fireworks couldn't be more fun.  It couldn't be more fun according to me; however, the girls might disagree with that assessment mostly because of the noise.  Those explosions are not their favorite!  Which is why we come prepared with headphones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lydia sure enjoyed her ice cream while Sophie and I took a much needed nap.

 

I love this picture because it sums up so perfectly that Lydia knew what to expect with the fireworks and was clearly not thrilled with what was coming, whereas Sophie had no idea what she was in for and couldn't be happier about it.

 

 

To the beat of her own drum!

Right after Lydia turned three she was able to participate in Cheer camp.  The camp was for kids ages three to twelve and each group was broken up to include kids who were at similar stages.  The three and four year olds were together, five and six in the next group and so on.  I should clarify that within any group there were diverse interests in dancing as well as a range of abilities.  Lydia has loved dancing for months, but her interpretation of dancing consists of spinning around in circles over and over again.  The cheer leaders at Fairfield Junior High were so sweet with her.  And patient!  Those in charge of the three and four year olds were amazing.  Amazingly patient.  I was able to watch them teach the dance a little bit before the performance and Lydia was off in her kitty world for quite a bit of it.  She did join them for some of the stretches and parts of the dance, but when it came down to performing,  she relied in what she knew and spun her heart out!  The girls danced to "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled. I love the video Jon took and wish that you could see her twirling and twirling.  I'm so glad she didn't fall off the stage and so glad that she didn't make herself sick.  She must have gotten dizzy! 

If you were to ask her what she liked best about Cheer Camp, she'd tell that she liked the treats, the pom poms, and the Popsicle when it was all over.  I admit it, I loved watching her dance to the beat of her own drum. What a fun week for her!  She may not ever be a cheer leader, or a dancer of any sort, but she gave it her all and from what I could see, she sure had a good time!

 

Months later she still talks about it and asks where "her cheer camp school" is.  She's expressed interest in participating in it again, though I'm not sure that it's because her love of dancing has increased or her ability to follow directions is better, but I admit that I am curious.  Hopefully next time we can get better video and you can see what she's capable of,

The swing set

It's hard to believe that we'll have had our swing set for a year come Memorial Day.  Besides being there when we purchased it, I wasn't terribly involved.  Actually, Jon and I did plan a date night where we worked together on it.  What a telling experience....but more on that later.

 

Jon borrowed Dad Frazier's truck to transport our little girl's dreams home.  Yikes!  I thought him rather brave to drive the distance with that crate sticking off the back end of the truck as far as it did.

Jon was awesome at documenting each step with pictures so you get to see it all!!

I loved seeing Lydia with those binoculars!  She and Soph wanted to be out there putting it together with Dad. Or at least watching the progress.  I was there to keep the girls safe and out of the way.

This was about the time of our date night.  I really wanted to be involved and helpful.  I know that watching the girls while Jon worked was really the most helpful thing I could be doing, but as long as we were planning a date night why not work this into it?  Well, I'll tell you why.  Not having put a swing set together before, it was a bit of a challenge to delegate tasks to me especially when only one person was required.  I mean I was definitely an asset when it came to putting up the rope ladder, and I could retrieve tools for Jon, saving him some time that way, but otherwise I kind of missed having the girls there and feeling really needed.  Maybe if we went into the swing set business we could get really great at dividing up the work, but since that isn't likely I'll sit back and watch Jon work his magic.

We could have paid a bit more to have our swing set assembled at our house, saving us time and energy, but that's one of the many things I love about Jon.  He's good at putting things together and as long as he is able to do so why pay someone else to do what he can do? 

And this was when Jon decided to record the blisters that started forming on his hands.  Did it stop him?  Of course not!

Lydia was so excited about that red roof!  Her little club house coming together for her.  Knowing what a great imagination she has I'm sure she was looking forward to the good times she'd have steering her ship on some rough waters or hiding out from wild animals trying to reach her from below or the picnics she'd have with her animals.  So much to look forward to!

Sophie was an excellent helper.  She LOVED picking up Dad's tools and carrying them around.  She also really enjoyed picking up pieces of box that the different parts came in.

Lydia enjoying being up so high!

The slide made it look almost complete.  Almost...

And once the swings were up it really was!

Jon's hands needed a good rest after the 14 or so hours he spent assembling it. 

Not that he ever complained about his blisters or the time.  And how he could he?  The looks on these little girls faces made it all worth it.

Utah State's Baby Animals with Ike and Amber

This is the first of many posts highlighting events from 2014.  Hopefully this year, despite the fact that it's basically March already, I can be a little more on top of things!!

Mid-May Ike and Amber invited Lydia to Utah State's baby animal days as an early birthday present and we loved the idea and tagged along.  What a perfect day!  The girls had a great time and suddenly Lydia seemed so little!  She wanted to do everything and it didn't matter that most of the other kids were significantly older than she was or that their Mom or Dad was right by their side whereas Lyds ventured out alone.  She's one tough cookie!  Well... she's tough unless she's faced with a bunch of noisy toddlers in the bounce house.  She'd been so excited to take her shoes off and jump to her hearts content when she saw that big blown up house.  We waited in line for a considerable amount of time but once in she lasted no longer than five seconds.  Too much for her.  All those kids were just too much.  If she could have had the place to herself it would have been a different story entirely. 

Sophie was not really into much of anything, but she was a good sport anyway.  It was a beautiful day.  A little colder than I'd hoped, but nice none-the-less.

She looked so grown up on that big horse!  And yet so little at the same time.

Sophie eventually fell asleep in the bjorn.  Can't say that I blame her.  She would have been napping had we not been out having adventures anyway.  I'm glad she was able to get in a little snooze.

Lyds wanted her face painted and requested a pony.  Of course she did!

Sophie didn't necessarily want her face painted but put up with it anyway. 

This was the moment I was reminded just how little Lydia really is.  She looked tiny in that train car!  And seeing older kids cuddled up next to their parents in other cars made me realize that in some ways Lydia really is fearless.  She needed to know where we were, but as long as she could see us she was happy to be on her own.

Lydia loved spending the morning with Uncle Isaac and Aunt Amber.  The sheep sheering made an impression, the horses were a favorite and petting those rabbits was very memorable for her.  What a great idea Isaac and Amber!!  Thanks so much for knowing Lyds so well and for thinking of her and for letting us tag along!  We'd love to make this a tradition.